Going Deep on Gamification

YOW! London 2022

Playing games, we can focus deeply and work really hard and also have a good time. This is what I want out of work, too.

Traditional gamification adds points, competition, and badges to make work appear more game-like. This corrodes collaboration, replacing a deeper meaning with superficial characteristics of games.

We can go deeper: let's talk about how game designers craft an experience for the players, and then apply those principles to the experience of participating in a software team. Games have a lot to teach us, if we look below the surface.

Jessitron brings examples from games, principles of game design, and insight into the nature of software development. Together, this leads to a new way to lead and to live: choosing and designing our own forms of agency.